Aubergine, Chickpea and Tamarind Stew
Serve with plain rice and a cucumber-yogurt salad. Try replacing the aubergine & green pepper with your choice of seasonal or local veg (root veg roasted until tender works well).
- 1 large aubergine cut into chunks
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 large green chilli
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin chickpeas
- 1 heaped tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp syrup
- 300 g tomatoes cut into eighths
- Small handful of mint roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 190C. Roast aubergine 20-30 minutes on a lightly oiled baking tray until browned and almost cooked through.
Heat olive oil in large heavy-based pan, gently fry onion, garlic and chilli for 10 minutes until softened. Stir in spices and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add tinned tomatoes & simmer 5-10 mins. Stir in the green pepper, syrup, tamarind and aubergine pieces and lower heat. Add chickpeas (drained & rinsed) and fresh tomatoes and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Check the seasoning and stir in mint just before serving.